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WHEN MOTHER LETS 
US TELL STORIES 


By ENOS B. COMSTOCK 

Author of “Tuck-Me-In Stories,” etc. 


ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR 



NEW YORK 

MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY 

191T 


Copyright, 1917, by 
MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY 



Published, November, 1917 



DEC 21 1917 


©CI,A479li31 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Foreword 1 

The Use of Story Pictures ‘ . . . 3 

When and Where to Tell Stories 17 

Suspense • 19 

Gathering MatePwIAL 22 

Plots 31 

Eyes and Ears 51 

Choosing Your Subject 73 

.Delivery '75 

Originality 86 

Style 88 

A Last Word 90 


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rOREWOLD 


Almost everything we see — whether we are on 
our way to school, or playing in the yard, or look- 
ing out of the window on a rainy day — almost 
everything we see suggests some thought to us. 
Some of the thoughts are long ones and some are 
very short. Some of them are interesting and 
others are not. If what we see is very interest- 
ing, we run and tell Mother about it. We are 
telling a story. Mother will listen, and if what 
we say is clear. Mother will understand just what 
we have seen and she will be interested too. 

Henry comes running in from the yard and 
says, ^‘Mother! I saw a dog chasing a kitten.’’ 
That is a very short story, but it is quite an inter- 
esting one. Mother is at once anxious to know 
whether it was our kitten and how the kitten got 
away. 

Now the thing that we are going to learn to do 
— ^whether we are telling about something that 
really happened, or whether it is something that 
just make believe happened — ^is to tell it in such 
a way that it will be interesting. 

I have often heard you say, like this story,” 
1 


2 WHEN MOTHER LETS TJS TELL STORIES 


or, ‘ ^ This is my favorite story. ’ ’ I wonder if you 
have ever stopped to think why you like some 
stories better than you do others. You say, 
like the story of Little Red Riding Hood.’’ If I 
were to ask you why you liked Little Riding 
Hood, you would probably say, like it because 
it is exciting, and I like it because it has a nice 
ending.” Those are very good reasons, and 
there are a great many other reasons why we may 
like one story or another. Now that we are going 
to make up stories of our own, we must begin to 
ask ourselves what it is in stories that makes us 
like them. This will help us to know what to put 
into our own stories if we want little brother to 
think they are interesting. 

We all like pictures. We like them because 
they tell us stories. Pictures tell stories more 
simply than nature does, because they can leave 
out the things that are not important. For this 
reason we are going to use pictures to help in 
teaching us to tell stories. Then, after we have 
learned to tell interesting stories with the help of 
pictures, perhaps we will be able to make up 
stories without that help. 


THE USE OF STORY PICTURES 


Since the very beginning of time, little children 
have loved to listen to stories. Ages and ages ago 
when the savage cave man brought home a tiny 
bear cub and gave it to his shaggy-headed chil- 
dren for a plaything, I haven’t a doubt but that 
they wanted to know where he found the furry 
little creature and how he managed to catch it. 
In other words, they wanted him to tell them a 
story about it. 

Now, because all little children, and big ones 
too, like to hear stories, it is only natural that 
sooner or later they will want to try to tell them. 
When mother tucks baby into his carriage and 
goes out for a walk, you, sister, will do the same 
with your doll. And, after brother has watched 
the gardener setting out plants, he will want to 
make a garden too. So — ^when you and brother 
go to mother and ask her to tell you a story, just 
when she is most busy with her morning’s work, 
she may say, am very busy just now, dear. 
Why don’t you tell brother a story?” And why 
don’t you ? The idea is a very good one, and you 
are anxious to begin. But perhaps the first 


4 WHEN MOTHER LETS ITS TELL STORIES 

thought that comes to you will be, “I don’t know 
what to tell a story about.” This is not because 
you cannot think of anything. It is more likely 
to be because there are so very many things you 
can think of that you don’t know which to choose. 

After you have made up your mind what your 
story is to be about, or, ‘‘chosen your subject,” 
as we say, you will find it hard to decide on the 
best way to begin and how to have things follow 
each other in the most interesting way. This, 
again, is not because you are at a loss for some- 
thing to say, but because you think of so many 
things all at once you cannot decide on what to 
tell and what to leave out. You remember the 
day you went for that beautiful ride in the coun- 
try. There were so many interesting roads and 
Daddy said, “We can travel over just one road at 
a time. They are all inviting but we will have 
to save the others for other trips.” It is just so 
with telling a story. If your story is to be in- 
teresting, you must not try to travel over differ- 
ent roads at the same time. 

Long, long ago, before people were civilized 
enough to have a written language, they used pic- 
tures as a means of telling, or recording, what 
had happened during their lives, so that those 
who were to come into the world after they had 
gone might know something of its history. They 


THE USE OF STORY PICTURES 


5 


had a message to give to people whom they could 
not reach with their voices and they chose the 
very simplest way of expressing their messages, 
and that way was by the use of pictures. If a 
man killed a lion and he wanted people to know 
about it, he made a picture showing just how it 
was done. He had no pencil or paper, so he had 
to carve his picture in stone or scratch it on a 
piece of wood. And, just as it was easier for 
people to tell stories with pictures instead of 
written words, so too was it easier to understand 
stories told in pictures. ' Of course we have been 
to school and we know how to read written words, 
but we don^t always want to read stories that 
other people have written. We want to make up 
our stories. We will need a little help to begin 
with, and we are going to use pictures to help us. 
We have just learned that that is the simplest 
kind of help in story telling, and probably it will 
not be long until we will be able to get along with- 
out any help. 

When I tell you that it is easier to tell a story 
with the help of several pictures than it is to tell 
one about a single picture, your first thought may 
be, should think it would be easier to tell a 
story about just one picture.” Several pictures, 
if the thought in each is clear, will lead us along 
step by step, from the beginning to the very end 


6 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

of a story, and will keep us from going astray. 
That is what is called keeping the ‘^succession of 
events.” “Succession of events” sounds like 
something very hard to understand, but it means 
simply having the different parts of a story fol- 
low each other in the right order. 

A single picture may give us a thought on 
which to build a story, but it is not at all likely 
to help us all the way through with it. Perhaps 
with the help of some very simple pictures I can 
show you more clearly what I mean. Let us fol- 
low these pictures and see how they lead us along 
from the beginning to the end of a little story. 


I 



The first picture says, ‘‘Mrs. Duck has a nest in an 
old box. ’ ’ Turn to the next page. 


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<< There are eight eggs in the nest/^ 
Now turn to the third page. 

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^‘The eggs have hatched/’ 
And the fourth picture says ; 


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‘^Mrs. Duck is taking her family down to the pond 

for their first swim.^^ 






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THE USE OF STORY PICTURES 


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Of course we might add more to what each picture 
says to make our story longer and more interest- 
ing, but you see how the pictures help to keep us 
to the main points as we go along. If you were 
going to lengthen your story you would probably 
say: ‘‘Mrs. Duck has a nest in an old box. 
She has been sitting very still for a long time.” 
Then you would turn to the next page and say : 
“She got off from the nest for a few minutes to 
rest and get something to eat, and while she was 
away I counted the eggs. There were eight of 
them.” You might look at the third page and 
say: “She did not stay off the nest very long as 
she knew that it would not do to allow the eggs to 
get cold. A short time after she returned, the 
eggs began to hatch and soon there were eight 
downy little ducklings scrambling to get out into 
the warm sunlight. ’ ’ And the last picture would 
say : “It was a beautiful day, and the ducklings 
were all very anxious for a swim, so Mrs. Duck 
took them down to the pond. She was very 
happy.” You see you have told about the same 
story only you have made it a little longer and a 
little more interesting, but in both cases the pic- 
tures served as your guide. 

Have you ever seen a carpenter building a 
house ? He has a set of pictures to guide him too. 
His pictures are called plans, and they show him. 


12 WHEN MOTHER LETS HS TELL STORIES 

just how each part is to he built as he goes along. 
His pictures show him how the house is to 
be built, and the pictures I have drawn are in- 
tended to show you how you are to build your 
stories. 

Now suppose we try to tell a story with only 
a single picture to help us. Here is a picture of 
two little children standing under an umbrella 
in the rain. Directly in the path before them 
is a pool of water. A large frog is eyeing them 
from the middle of the pool. What thought does 
this picture suggest to you ? 

Try to remember that simply telling what you 
see in a picture is not making up a story about 
the picture. When you merely name the differ- 
ent objects you see in a picture, you are using 
your eyes but you are not using your imagination. 
Let the picture furnish you with a thought and 
then take that thought and try to tell it in a way 
that will be interesting. 

Suppose we study the picture before us. We 
will observe that the grass on either side of the 
path is tall. We will notice too that the water 
covers the path so that it would be necessary for 
the children to walk into the grass in order to get 
around the pool. We know that it is raining — 
we can see the drops falling from the umbrella 
and splashing in the pool — now we know that the 





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14 WHEN MOTHER LETS ITS TELL STORIES 


grass must be wet and that the children would be 
sure to get their feet wet if they stepped off the 
path. We are gathering the material that is in 
the picture and, from that material, we are get- 
ting a thought on which to build a story. But we 
may find ourselves at a loss to know how to pro- 
ceed, because there is only one picture and it does 
not finish our story for us. We wish there were 
another picture to give us a hint as to what hap- 
pened next. I do not mean to say that there is 
not enough in the picture to write a story about. 
We could write a great many stories about this 
one picture. If we chose, we might even make 
up a little verse and say — 

We promised mother we would go 
The very shortest way we know, 

But how are we to do it ? 

Here is a puddle, deep and wide. 

With grasses tall on either side — 

The path goes right straight through it. 

Perhaps our thought would not be about the 
wet grass or how the children were to get across 
the pool. We might find the frog the most inter- 
esting thing in the picture, and our story might 
be about him ; or, perhaps, the old umbrella would 
interest us most. But, in .any case, we would 


THE USE OF STORY PICTURES 


15 


have to use quite a good deal of our own imagina- 
tion in order to make the story interesting and 
bring it to a successful ending. Now I think we 
will all agree that it is harder to tell a story about 
a single picture than it is to follow a set of pic- 
tures. It isn’t that the picture does not give us a 
thought, but it is apt to give us too many thoughts 
and not finish any of them. 

What I have just said recalls a story I heard 
when I was a little boy. It must have been an 
interesting story or I would probably have for- 
gotten it long ago. Any way it may help to make 
clearer wdiat I have said about the same thing, 
whether that thing is some object, or a picture; 
suggesting entirely different thoughts to differ- 
ent people. 

The story was about four blind men who went 
to ^^see” an elephant. Of course they could not 
really see, so they had to feel the elephant with 
their hands. The first man happened to feel one 
of the elephant’s legs. The second ran his hand 
along the elephant’s side. The third took hold of 
his tail, and the fourth touched one of his tusks. 
Then, when each was pretty sure he knew just 
what the elephant looked like, they sat down to 
have a little talk about him. ^‘The elephant is 
very much like a tree,” said the first man. 
‘^No,” said the second, ^^I think he is much morq 


16 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

like the side of a house.’’ ‘‘How stupid,” said 
the third; “I felt of the elephant very carefully 
and he is like a piece of rope.” “You are all 
wrong,” said the fourth man, who had felt of the 
animal’s tusk; “the elephant is like a bar of 
metal.” 

So they argued and argued, and it was a long 
time before they discovered that they were all 
partly wrong and all partly right. 

This happened to be a story about some blind 
men and an elephant, but such things are just 
as likely to occur when there are twenty pairs of 
bright little eyes all looking at the very same 
thing, and the brighter they are the more differ- 
ent things they are likely to see. It would be a 
very stupid world if everything told the same 
story to all of us. 


WHEN AND WHERE TO TELL STORIES 

One of the nicest things about telling stories is 
that you don’t need anything besides interesting 
thoughts, and the power to tell your thoughts in 
an interesting way. I mean, you don’t need 
lumber or tools or a drawing board or anything 
that you can’t take with you wherever you choose 
to go. There is no disorder that must be kept in 
any particular spot. 

When you have finished helping mother with 
her work, or, when she says, ‘‘I wish you would 
do something to amuse little brother” — ^when 
you are tired of running and romping, and feel 
like sitting down with your playmates — in the 
winter twilight, when you are sitting before the 
open fire — when you are kept in the house on 
rainy days, and brother or sister become restless 
and tired of their play, these are good times to 
pick out a quiet nook and gather your little lis^ 
teners about you. You can find a peaceful spot 
almost anywhere. In winter, or on rainy days 
it may be the window seat, or the big rocker, or 
the rug. In the spring, summer and autumn, 
you have the whole beautiful outdoor world. 
The hammock on the veranda — the seat under 
the old apple tree — the soft grassy fields — the 


18 WHEN" MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

shady lawn — the flat stump at the edge of the 
woods— the great rocks at the sea shore — the 
bench in the park — the walk home from school. 
All these, and a thousand other places, will in- 
spire your imagination and make you want to 
tell stories. You will never have trouble flnding 
eager little listeners, if you make your stories 
fresh and interesting. 


SUSPENSE 


19 


SUSPENSE 

Now that you are about to begin to tell stories 
to interest other people, you must remember that 
your position is very different from what it was 
when you were listening to stories that were read 
or told to you. 

When you are listening to a story and it be- 
gins to get exciting, how anxious you are to know 
just what is going to happen next. You can 
hardly wait. When Mother closes the book and 
says, ‘^Now we won’t read any more to-night,’’ 
you say, ‘‘Oh, Mother! won’t you please read us 
just one more page. This is such an exciting 
place to stop. I am so anxious to know how it 
ends.” 

You wonder why the author keeps from telling 
you the very things you are most anxious to 
know. You wish he would hurry and tell how 
Bluebeard’s wife was saved, or, whether or not, 
J ack escaped from the giant. That is what we 
call, “being kept in suspense” and, you may not 
know it, but it is the very thing that makes the 
story exciting. 

The author, or story-teller, knows how to keep 
you interested until the very end. Now that you 
are to be the story-teller, you must make a study 


20 WHEN MOTHEK LETS US TELL STORIES 

of finding ont different ways of keeping up the 
suspense and interest of your listeners. 

You remember, in tlie story of Cinderella, 
wliat a hard time the prince had finding out who 
the crystal slipper belonged to — and how it was 
not until the very end of the story that he really 
knew that Cinderella was the only person in all 
the land who could get her dainty foot into the 
slipper perfectly. You hoped he would find it 
out, and perhaps you were almost sure that he 
would, but just the same, you were quite impa- 
tient while the ugly sisters each tried their best 
to force their foot into the slipper. You wished 
you could tell the prince to let Cinderella try it. 

Perhaps you have made up your mind that, 
when you tell stories, you are going to let your 
listeners know the exciting things as quickly as 
possible and not keep them in suspense. Per- 
haps you think that you do not like to be kept in 
suspense and, now that you are the story teller, 
you are not going to keep other people guessing 
as to what is going to happen next — but, if you 
will think over the stories you have read and lis- 
tened to, I am pretty sure you will discover that 
the very ones you liked the best were those that 
kept you in doubt every minute, as to what 
would happen. 

I know a little boy who almost always tells the 


SUSPENSE 


21 


most interesting part of what he has to say first, 
and then goes back and relates all the less inter- 
esting things that lead up to it. This shows two 
things very clearly. First, it shows that he must 
know what the most interesting part of his story 
is. Second, it shows that he does not know how 
to keep his listeners interested to the end. He is 
so impatient to tell what he has to say, that he 
does not stop to think that there is a best w^ay to 
tell it. 

If this same little boy had his way, I am afraid 
he would come to the table and have his dessert 
first, because he likes it best, and then finish his 
meal with his meat and potatoes and bread and 
butter and milk. The dessert is good. We may 
like it better than we do the meat and potatoes, 
but each course must come in its proper place. 
It is just so with the parts of a story. We 
might call them the different courses. They 
must be good and interesting, and they should 
lead up to something even more interesting. 


22 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 


GATHEEING MATERIAL 

We are going to talk about plots and style and 
originality later on, but I must be careful not to 
hurry these subjects in a way that will be con- 
fusing. So, before we take them up, I think it 
will be refreshing to look at a set of pictures, 
have a little talk about them, and then see what 
success you have telling your first story. 

You have learned that the pictures are in- 
tended to supply you with material for your 
story. Now you are about to gather that ma- 
terial — just as you would gather berries for a 
shortcake. 

There are two ways you might go about it. 

One way would be to turn to the first picture, 
study it carefully — then, when you are sure you 
have not overlooked anything, begin your story, 
telling every thought that the picture supplies. 
Then turn to the next picture and do the same — 
and so on to the end. 

The other way — and by far the better way, 
would be to look at the first picture just long 
enough to get the main idea — then turn to the 
second picture and see what happens next, or, 
what the new developments are — and so on, to 
the end of the series. Then, knowing what the 
story is about, or, what the plot of the story is. 


GATHERING MATERIAL 


23 


and how it begins and ends — you are ready to 
turn back to the first picture and study it more 
carefully. 

It will now be easy to understand why the 
things of less importance are there, and what 
bearing they have on the story. 

You will find that you have a better under- 
standing of the picture than you had at first, and 
you are ready to begin telling your story. 

Be careful not to run ahead of the picture that 
is before you, or to tell anything before it oc- 
curs. 

If you were looking at the pictures purely for 
your own amusement, you would probably want 
to be surprised by each picture as you came to it. 
You would not care to know the ending until 
you had studied and enjoyed each picture in 
turn. But you are doing something more .than 
that now. You are ^ telling stories to interest 
others, and you want your story to progress 
smoothly and in the most interesting way. 

The plan I have just described, of getting a 
general idea and then going back and building it 
up, or, developing it, is exactly what you do, too, 
when you draw a picture. You do not start in 
with a hard pencil line, finishing up each part as 
you go along. You begin by making a rough 
sketch of the whole picture, and then go back 


24 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

and develop the details, carrying them all along 
together. 

Here is a little story of adventure, told in six 
pictures. 

Suppose you look at each picture in turn, as 
I suggested, just carefully enough to fix the plot 
in your mind. Then turn back to the first pic- 
ture, study the detail, and begin to tell your 
story. 

I am going to let you make up your story in 
your own way, because I feel sure you want to 
do that. You won’t mind though, if I make just 
a few suggestions under each picture, to remind 
you not to overlook little things. 

I am going to ask you not to read what is 
printed under the pictures until you go over 
them the second time. 

Npw look at the pictures. 



What season of the year do you think it is? 
What kind of a day is it ? 

Why do the ducks like this particular spot? 
Who discovered the ducks first? 


25 




What does the dog think of this part of the picnic? 
How do the ducks feel about it? 

Is there anything in the picture that leads you to 
think that the children have planned to spend the 
whole day at the river? 




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Notice that the ducks are still lingering in the dis- 
tance. 

Perhaps they are hoping that the children may 
come to grief. 

What effect does the weight of the children and 
the dog have upon the bridge? 


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Are the children thinking of anything besides the 
fish! 

What do you see that the children do not see! 
How do you know that the fish is pulling hard ! 


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Do not forget that the ducks may still he in the 
story, even though the picture does not show them. 
What do you think they did when the plank broke ? 


29 



with the last picture. 

It might be interesting to see if you could give it a 


happier ending by adding more. 

What became of the fish-pole and the fish? 


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PLOTS 


31 


PLOTS 

How often you have said, like this story,” 
or, ‘‘This is my favorite story.” I wonder if 
you have ever stopped to think why you like some 
stories better than you do others. You used to 
say, “I like the story of ‘Little Eed Riding 
Hood. ’ ” If I had asked you why you liked it, 
you would probably have said, “I like it because 
it is exciting, and I like the way it ends.” 

Now that you are the story teller, you must 
ask yourself why it is that you like some stories 
better than you do others. This will help you 
to know what to put into your own stories, if 
you want brother and sister to like them. 

The relation of the different parts of the story 
to each other, and all leading toward an end, or 
climax, is what is called the plot. You may 
call it the plan, for the present, if that seems 
easier to understand. 

When you plan a picnic, you decide on some 
place to go. Perhaps it is the shady woods on 
the bank of the river. You may enjoy every 
minute of the preparation, and the walk to the 
spot where the picnic is to be. You may gather 
flowers, and chase butterflies, along the way, and 
have a lovely time — ^but the picnic ground on the 


32 WHEK MOTHER LETS ITS TELL STORIES 


river bank is what you are looking forward to, 
and the other things simply lead up to it. It is 
just so with your story. You may have many 
little things happen, to keep your listeners in- 
terested, but use these things to lead them on 
and build up something of greater interest, that 
is to happen farther along in your story. 

Would it help you here to see another set of 
pictures. You may tell your own story about 
them, of course; and tell it in your own way. 
Then I will use the pictures to help you to un- 
derstand a little talk about plots. Just as I 
used the last set to explain what I said about 
gathering material. 

Eemember that what is printed under the pic- 
tures has nothing to do with your telling your 
story. It is simply a part of our talk about 
plots. 



Pretend that you thought up the whole story your- 
self. If you had, I think you would have thought of 
the last picture first. That was what I did. 

Perhaps an organ grinder came down your street, 
and you watched the little monkey do his tricks. 
Maybe he tried to turn the crank of the organ. Then 
the thought came to you, ^‘What fun it would be to 
make up a story about a monkey playing an organ 
for a lot of other little animals to dance. 


33 



That was the idea that came to you first, and then 
you began to figure out a plan, or plot, that would 
make their little dance seem reasonable. 

Then you put your mind to thinking up a way of 
beginning your story. 

can have a little monkey, walking along the 
road with his master. But, how can I explain his 
getting the organ, and his escape T’ 


34 



know! I will pretend the man is very tired, 
and then I will have him sit down to rest and fall 
asleep.’’ 

You are beginning to build your plot. But there 
ought to be some good reason for the monkey’s play- 
ing such a trick on his master. Perhaps he wanted 
to be carried, and was out of humor because his 
master made him walk. 


35 



‘^Yes, that would be a good reason for his playing 
a prank.’’ 

You have thought out what he did, and how he was 
able to do it, and why he did it. 

The rest of your plan is easy. 

Of course he ran for the nearest woods. 

When he was sure that he was out of his master’s 
reach, he called the little squirrels, and rabbits, and 
chipmunks, about him — explained his plan, and in- 
vited them to dance. 


36 




You have finally gotten back to your dance, which 
was the very first idea that came to you. 

You have thought out your plot and made it seem 
possible and reasonable. 

In other words, you have planned your whole 
story. 


37 



All that remains to be done is to tell your story 
in the most interesting way possible, keeping in 
mind the things we talked about in our chapter 
called ‘‘Suspense.’’ 



PLOTS 


39 


There is so much that might be said on the sub- 
ject of plots, that it is hard to know just what to 
say and what to leave out. 

You may be able to talk in a most interesting 
way. You may know all the rules of composi- 
tion; but the real success of your story depends 
most on whether your plot is interesting. 

Your knowledge of language and composi- 
tion, or the construction of sentences, is your 
tool. Your thoughts are your material, and 
your plot is the thing that you build. 

I am sure you can see the reason for having 
a good and well formed idea before you begin 
your story. J ust as, with your tools and lumber, 
you would have to know, before beginning, 
whether you were going to build a boat, or a doll 
house. 

You know, from the number of stories you 
have read and listened to, how very many plots 
there must be. Perhaps you say, ‘‘Why yes, 
every story has a different plot.’’ That is true, 
and still it would be possible to class all of these 
plots under a few general headings. I think 
you will be surprised to know how much alike 
the plots sometimes are, in w^hat we think are 
very different stories. Is that a little hard to 
understand? Perhaps I can make it clearer 
this way. Two of my favorite stories — and I 


40 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

am pretty sure they are favorites of yours too, 
are — Cinderella, and Hans Christian Ander- 
sen’s story of ‘‘The Ugly Duckling.” “How 
queer that we should like such very different 
stories,” you say, “One is about a little girl, and 
the other is about a little duckling that turned 
out to be a swan.” 

Suppose we pick the stories to pieces and com- 
pare them. ‘ ‘ Cinderella ” is a story about a poor 
little girl who was treated very unkindly by her 
step-mother and her sisters. But, one day, 
through the help of a fairy god-mother, she was 
given a chance to go to a ball at the king’s palace, 
where the prince met her. He saw how beauti- 
ful she was ; and, in the end, he married her and 
she became a lovely princess. 

Now let us take the case of the ‘‘Ugly Duck- 
ling.” He was a poor little baby fowl that was 
treated very unkindly by his step-mother and 
brothers and sisters. They drove him out into 
the world. There was no fairy god-mother to 
help him, but finally, after many hardships, he 
came, not to a palace, but to what seemed like 
a palace to him — a lovely lake. And there he 
met some beautiful swans — just as Cinderella 
met the beautiful prince, at the palace. In the 
end, he turned out to be a lovely swan — just as 
Cinderella became a lovely princess. 



This will be a good place for us to see the story 
pictures of ^‘Little Alfred ^s Christmas/’ because, 
while the likeness is not as great as in the two we 
have just compared, this plot would still be classed 
under the same head. 


41 




I will not spoil your chance to tell the story by 
telling it for you. 

All that I am going to do is to point out in what 
way the plot is similar to ‘‘Cinderella,’^ and “The 
Ugly Duckling,” and why it would be put under the 
same class. 


42 



It is a story about a poor little boy. 

Then, right at the beginning, we see that they are 
alike in one respect. They are all stories about 
poor little folks. 


43 


In the story of ‘^Little Alfred’s Christmas,” the 
old black crow comes and sees how unhappy he is. 
Just as in ‘‘Cinderella,” the fairy godmother saw 
how unhappy Cinderella was. And, just as the fairy 
god-mother set out to make Cinderella happy, so 
does the old black crow plan to make little Alfred 
happy. 



44 



He knows that what the little boy is longing for, is 
a merry Christmas, and he does everything he can 
think of to bring it about. 

In the end, Alfred is made very happy, when he 
finds that his wish has come true. 


45 



The fairy god-mother knew that Cinderella was 
very anxious to go to the ball and meet all the lovely 
people. So she did everything she conld to bring it 
about. 

In the end, Cinderella was made very happy by 
having her wish granted. 


46 



You see, in a general way, these plots are all rather 
alike. 

There are a great many more that would he classed 
under the same head. 

You would have to include ‘^Little Lord Fauntle- 
roy too. 


47 



If you were to describe, in a very general way, tlie 
plots that belong in this class, you would say, “All 
plots that are about some poor person, or creature, 
who has a very hard time of it in the beginning of 
the story, and finally, because he is good and worthy, 
he receives his reward, and the story ends happily. 


48 


PLOTS 


49 


Then there is another division that would in- 
clude stories that are the direct opposite of those 
we have just been talking about. 

In the plots of this class, there is usually some 
cruel person, or monster, who has all of the peo- 
ple terrorized. He practices his wicked ways 
until the end of the story, when he comes to grief. 

‘‘Jack the Giant Killer’’ and “Bluebeard” 
and a number of the stories in the “The Arabian 
Nights” would be classed among these. 

Some of the best stories of adventure are not 
so dependent on their plot, for interest, as on the 
many little happenings that liold the listener’s 
attention. “Alice in Wonderland” is a good 
example of this kind of a story. 

You boys especially, are very fond of the story 
of “Robinson Crusoe.” You like the account of 
the wreck, and it thrills you to think that this 
lone man should have escaped drowning. The 
author wished to write a story of the adventures 
of a man alone on an island and he took that in- 
teresting way of bringing about the situation he 
wanted. The same plot, or plan, has been used 
over and over again, in stories that are not at all 
alike in other respects. Tennyson used it in his 
beautiful poem, “Enoch Arden.” It was used 
in “The Swiss Family Robinson.” Charles 
Reid used it in his novel, “Foul Play,” and Rob- 


50 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

ert Louis Stevenson has an old character ma- 
rooned on the island, in ‘‘Treasure Island.” 

We might go on and on with our talk about 
plots. It is such an interesting subject. The 
point I have tried most to bring out is that, Avhile 
you want your plots to be as original as possible, 
you need not be afraid to apply the inventions 
of other minds, to your own use. But. try to use 
them in a new way. 

You would be a genius indeed, if you could 
create a story that was in no way like anything 
that had ever been told. When an inventor is 
working at a machine, and he wants a wheel or 
a lever, he does not say, “Oh no, I must not use 
these things, I did not invent them.” He uses 
the things that have been invented, to help him 
to make some newer invention. You have the 
right to do the same with your story plots. 


EYES AND EAKS 


51 


EYES AND EARS 

You have learned how to use the material and 
the thought in the pictures and put it into your 
story. When you have finished with the pic- 
tures, and no longer have them to supply you 
with material, you may be at a loss to know just 
how to begin to build. I would be leaving out a 
very important chapter, if I were to try to tell 
you how to begin, without first saying something 
about what you must do before you can hope to 
make up interesting stories. You must learn to 
observe. Observe is not a hard word to under- 
stand. It means, to give attention to what you 
see and hear. Or, in other words, to notice care- 
fully. 

Perhaps you think, am to be the story-tel- 
ler, why should I be the one that is to listen or 
to be shown. ” You are the story-teller, and that 
is the very reason why you should see and hear. 
Not at the minute you are telling your story, 
but before you even think of beginning it. 

Have you ever been to the country when they 
were making cider? Those of you who have 
never had a chance to see that, I am sure, have 
often watched mother baking a cake. That will 
do just as well, to show you what I mean. We 


52 WHEN MOTHEK LETS US TELL STORIES 

will pretend that the cider or cake is the story 
we are telling. We know, that in order to get 
cider out of the press, or cake out of the oven, we 
must first put something into the press, or into 
the oven. We know, too, that if we want to get 
fine rich cider, or a very good cake, we must put 
good sweet apples into the press, and fine sifted 
fiour and good butter and eggs into the cake pan, 
before putting it into the oven. 

It is exactly the same with your story. If you 
want the story to be good, you must have some- 
thing interesting to talk about. 

Your brain is like the cider press. It must be 
fed with something that it can make into an in- 
teresting story. And how is it to be fed? You 
must train your eyes and ears and sense of touch 
and taste and smell, to feed it. You must train 
these senses not only when you are telling your 
story, but all the time and everywhere. You 
cannot expect ever to give out anything more in- 
teresting than the thoughts you take in. 

We sometimes hear people say, children and 
grownup people as well, ^‘I am not original. I 
have no imagination. ’ ’ They mean that they are 
not good at thinking up new things. Of course 
some people have more new ideas than others, 
but they get them by using their eyes and ears 
and other senses. I am sure that we could all 


EYES AXD EARS 


53 


think up new and interesting thoughts if we 
would learn to make better use of our senses. 

I remember a story in an old school reader. 



It was about two boys who had to travel over the 
same road and across the same fields in their 
walk to and from school. One day their teacher 
asked them to write a little story about what they 


54 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

had seen on their way home from school. Your 
teacher has probably asked you to do that too, 
hasn’t she? Well, one of the boys could not 
remember having seen anything that was at all 
interesting. It had been a long, tiresome walk. 
The road was dusty and it was a very hot day, 
but, aside from that, he remembered nothing. 

The other boy had had a most interesting time 
on his way home. First he found some nice ripe 
blackberries in a thicket beside the road. Then 
he saw a strange looking bird, and he followed 
it, because it seemed to have a broken wing. 
The bird led him quite a long way away from his 
path, and he kept seeing new things that in- 
terested him. When he finally did get home, 
he had so many new thoughts, and he was so 
hungry, that he forgot all about how hot and 
tired he was. The title of the story was, ‘ ^ Eyes 
and Ears.” It was written to show how people 
might travel over the same road, and one might 
see things, while the other would not. This is 
just as true of gro^vn up people as it is of chil- 
dren. But you may be sure that the boys and 
girls who learn to use their eyes and ears when 
they are young, will use them when they are 
grown up. I once traveled through some of the 
most beautiful scenery in the Eocky Mountains, 
when it seemed as if every minute brought some- 


EXES AND EARS 


55 


thing more wonderful than the last. There were 
men, in the car I was in, who sat and played 
cards every bit of the way. The beautiful scen- 



ery meant nothing to them, and I am afraid it 
was because they had not learned to use their 
eyes when they -were young. 

So, please do not say, “I am afraid I will 


56 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

never be able to tell an interesting story, because 
I have no imagination/’ Learn to feed your 
imagination through your eyes and ears. 

Authors and grown up story-tellers do all 
sorts of things to give themselves new thoughts 
to write about. They travel all over the world, 
gathering their material. Some of them risk 
their lives in very dangerous places. They do it 
because they know that, if they want their 
stories to be exciting they must have exciting, or 
thrilling material, to use in their stories. 

One author, who wrote stories of adventure, 
built a small sail-boat. He did the work with his 
own hands. He did it because he knew that that 
in itself would be interesting to write about. 
When it was finished, he sailed all over the world 
in it. He might have sailed around the world 
on a big steamboat, with a thousand other pas- 
sengers. He would probably have been a great 
deal more comfortable, but he was not looking 
for comfort. He wanted to have adventures 
of his own. He wanted all sorts of unex- 
pected things to happen to him, because he 
knew it would be interesting material for his 
stories. 

A few days ago I went over to the great Bronx 
zoo. I go there often, to study the animals and 
to get to know them better. There were hun- 


EYES AND EAES 


57 


dreds of boys and girls there. They were read- 
ing and listening to stories. And who do you 
think the story tellers were? They were the 



animals and birds and reptiles. They had the 
most interesting things to tell the children, about 
themselves, and the children were listening with 



58 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

all their ears and seeing with all their eyes. 
They were feeding their minds^ or gathering ma- 
terial. 

You do not give the shaggy old grizzly bear a 
peanut because you think he is hungry. Nor 
do you give it to him because you are anxious to 
get rid of the peanut. Your real reason for giv- 
ing it to him, is to get him to tell you a story. 
Not in words of course, but in what he does. 
You are quite able to put it into words yourself. 
All you want him to do is to furnish you with an 
idea. He may open his great jaws and catch 
the peanut in them before it strikes the floor of 
his cage. Perhaps you don’t throw it quite far 
enough and it strikes just outside of the bars. 
How interested you are watching him. First he 
tries to poke his nose through the bars and reach 
it with his tongue. Then, when he sees that he 
cannot do that, he puts his great paw through. 
He can just touch it with the tip of his claw, but 
each time it slips. At last he manages to reach 
just a little bit farther and draws it toward him. 
Then he nods his head in a very satisfied way. 
‘‘Surely,” you think, “he cannot have wanted 
one little peanut bad enough to have gone to all 
that work. He must have done it to please me 
and to show me that he was grateful.” 

There are almost always crowds of boys and 


EYES AND EARS 


59 


girls at the monkey cages. It is partly because 
they never know what the monkeys may do next. 
They are always doing some unexpected thing, 



and an unexpected thing gives you a new 
thought. 

An old chimpanzee sat for a long time nibbling 
at an apple. He turned it just as you or I would, 


60 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 


every time he took a fresh bite. After he had 
finished his apple, he gathered an armful of hay 
and climbed up onto a sort of shelf that had been 
put there for him to sleep on. He folded the 
hay up into a neat little roll and carefully placed 
it under his head for a pillow. Then he pre- 
tended to be taking a nap. I am sure that every 
boy and girl who saw that could tell a very in- 
teresting story about it. 

Of course you do not all live where it is pos- 
sible to visit a zoo. But that is just one of a 
thousand places quite as interesting, and just as 
full of thoughts. Learn to look for interesting 
things and you will find them everywhere. Per- 
haps you live in the country, and perhaps you 
say, “I am tired of the things here.” love 
to go to the city and see new things.” Of course 
you do, just as the city child loves to go to the 
country to see the things there that are new to 
him. 

When Mary goes to visit her cousin in the city, 
she will see many wonderful things that are new 
to her. And, because they are new to her, they 
will seem a great deal more wonderful than the 
things at home in the country. But, if she has 
learned to use her eyes and ears, she will be able 
to tell her cousin stories about the swallows that 
build their nests high up among the beams in the 


EYES AND EARS 


61 


barn. The wonderful place in the hay mow, 
where she found the six baby kittens. She will 
tell about the calves and the baby pigs and about 



her pet lamb, and countless other things. She 
may be surprised to see how much more inter- 
ested her cousin is in her stories of the country, 
than she is in the city things about her. 


62 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 


When cousin Alice returns Mary’s visit, she 
will tell the little country cousins about the 
crowded streets. How the big policeman, at the 
corner, holds up his hand and the great line of 
automobiles and teams stop, while he leads the 
boys and girls safely across the street. She will 
tell about the wonderful shop windows and the 
great stores, eight and ten stories high, full of 
toys, and everything else under the sun. These 
stories will be very interesting to the little coun- 
try children, who know the woods and fields and 
shady roads so well, but who have seen so little 
of paved streets lined with great buildings that 
seem to touch the sky. But, whether you are in 
the city, or in the country or in the Great North 
Woods, or in a little mining town, way up on the 
side of a mountain — wherever you are, you may 
be sure that there are interesting things going 
on all about you. Learn to interest yourself in 
things. 

You, little country boy and girl, if you love 
animals, and like to tell stories about them, go 
down through the pasture and hide back of the 
wall that fences off the clover field. There you 
can watch the old woodchuck. You will have to 
be very quiet, for he is on the lookout and if he 
hears you, he will drop down into his hole and 
will not show himself again for a long time. 


EYES AND EARS 


63 


But, if you are very still, you will probably find 
him, munching clover, a few feet away from the 
door of his home. He will stop every minute or 



two and raise up on his haunches and look all 
about, to make sure that he is quite safe, for he 
knows that he has a great many enemies. 

You may see him scratch the dirt away so as 


64 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

to enlarge the entrance to his home. He may 
decide that it would improve his place to have a 
new doorway. Perhaps he thinks it would be 
safer, in case old Eover surprised him some day, 
when he happened to be a little too far away 
from the other hole. You, will be surprised to 
see how very fast he can dig, with no tools other 
than his little fore paws. My, how he does make 
the dirt fly. But, he never forgets to stop every 
few moments to straighten up and look all 
around for any possible danger. 

Perhaps you are disappointed the day you go 
to see old Mr. Woodchuck, and do not And him 
at home, but you may meet Mr. Gray Squirrel in 
the pasture. He will scamper up the nearest 
tree, and you will see him looking down at you 
from high up on a branch. He may be storing 
away his supply of nuts for the winter, and, what 
an interesting story that would make. Do not 
be satisfied with a hasty visit. Stay and watch 
him carefully and I think you will feel well re- 
paid. 

You may see a calf in the lane, or in the barn- 
yard, on the way back to the house. You have 
seen hundreds of calves, but that is no reason 
why he should not be given a little thought. He 
turns and looks at you with his great wondering 
eyes. You remember, way back, when we were 


EYES AND EAES 


65 


talking about the use of pictures, I said that 
merely telling what was in the picture, was not 
telling a story about it. The same thing holds 



true now that you are telling your stories about 
things other than pictures. Of course it would 
not be interesting just to give a description of a 
calf, but I don’t see how you can look at him 


66 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL , STORIES 

without his suggesting some funny thought to 
you. His knees are so big, and he looks so awk- 
ward, and so innocent. I remember visiting on 
a farm, when I was a little boy. My little farm 
cousin was younger than I, but he knew all the 
farm animals and had no fear of them. He 
wanted me to see his pet calf but the calf behaved 
very badly, so my little cousin caught him by the 
tail to make him stand still. The calf, instead 
of standing, began to run and jump, and was 
soon going so fast that the little boy was afraid 
to let go for fear he would fall, and he felt almost 
certain that something would happen if he didn’t 
let go. There happened to be a mud puddle in 
the barn-yard and the calf ran straight through 
the middle of it. I don’t know whether the lit- 
tle bare-foot boy decided that it would be a good 
place to fall, because it was soft, or whether he 
just simply couldn’t keep his feet any longer, 
but he let go just in time to fall in the very 
middle of the puddle. The calf ran a few steps 
beyond, and then turned around and looked at 
him, much as to say, ‘^Well, you did get the worst 
of it, didn’t you?” 

Of course I thought it was very funny, but I 
was just a little boy when it happened, and it did 
not occur to me then, that there was material for 
a very funny story in what I had seen. 


EYES AND EAES 


67 


A few years ago one of our well known artists, 
who has painted a great many pictures of farm 
life, made a set of story pictures. His subject 



was, ^^The Bull Calf,’’ and he told a story in 
pictures, very like the one I have just told you. 
His story was about a man, and, instead of his 
having hold of the calf’s tail, he was leading him 


68 WHEN" MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

by a rope, and had carelessly tied the rope 
around his waist. The calf dragged him over 
all sorts of places, and finally jumped through a 
picket fence, where a board had been broken out. 
The man could not get through the opening, and 
was held there until some boys came along and 
cut the rope. 

I have told you this little story because I 
thought it showed clearly how I might have used 
the very thing I really saw, as material for a 
story. 

If you are fond of fairy tales, you will not need 
any hints from me as to where to look for ideas. 
Boys and girls who like fairy stories are pretty 
sure to have enough imagination to know the 
kind of places fairies would be likely to choose. 
Down in the tall grass, where the spider spins 
his web. Among the hollyhock stocks and blos- 
soms. Where the flowers in the garden have 
crept over the edge of their beds and grown wild 
and in disorder. The bees and butterflies and 
dragonflies will lead you to the very places that 
fairies would be sure to like. The cool shady 
places among the pumpkin and squash vines. 
Did you ever peer down under the great spread- 
ing leaves and see the tall straight stems that 
support them like a canopy? The sun’s rays, 
striking the green leaves and sifting through in 


EYES AND EARS 


69 


places, give wonderful unreal tone to the place. 
There is just one thing that this would make you 
think of, and that is ‘‘Fairy Land.” It looks 
like such a wonderful place to play. Like a 
little world that was made for some very tiny 
people. You wish you could get down and creep 
in and out among the green columns, with the 
beetles and ants and lady bugs and caterpillars. 
They seem to be having such a good time. You 
envy the big bumble bee that disappears in one 
of the great yellow pumpkin blossoms, and comes 
out a few moments later, covered with dusty 
gold. 

But, because you cannot get into this delight- 
ful fairy land yourself, that is no reason why 
you should not let your imagination wander in. 
You can people it with fairies, and they can 
dance about, in and out among the tall stocks, 
that must seem like trees to them. You can have 
them do all the things that you would like to do. 
Yes, if you like fairies, I am sure you know 
where to seek them. 

I have been saying so much about story ma- 
terial that may be gathered in the country, that 
I am afraid my little readers, who do not live in 
the country, may think I have not given as much 
thought to them. There is just as much in the 
city, to furnish you with thought, as there is any- 


70 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

where. The crowded streets. The lives of the 
hoys and girls who live in the poorer sections. 
The great parks, where there are lakes, in which 
the boys can sail their boats in summer, and 
where they can skate in winter. All these, and 
thousands of other things, are food for thought. 

I could give you a long list of subjects that you 
might tell stories about. I could make it almost 
an endless list, but I do not think that would be 
helping you in the right way. 

What I have tried to do is to show you that 
there is material for stories everywhere, and to 
get you into the habit of looking for it, and know- 
ing it when you see it. 

Now, just a few words about preparing your 
minds for telling stories. Eead ! Eead as 
many good children’s stories as you can. 
Choose stories that you can understand. When 
father and mother are not busy with other 
things, they will be glad to read to you. You 
will have time enough to read grown up stories 
later, but, if you do not read the good children’s 
stories, those we call the children’s classics, now, 
you may never have the chance after you are 
grown up, and, even if you do, they will never 
have the same interest. Eead them, and ask 
yourselves why you like them. 

Mother will tell you what stories to read. She 


EYES AND EAES 


71 


read most of them when she was a little girl. 
She has probably read a great many of them to 
you already. I am sure she read you the Mother 
Goose rhymes long, long ago, and I think you 
have heard ''Little Eed Eiding Hood,” "The 
Three Bears,” '‘Jack and the Bean Stalk,” 
"Jack the Giant Killer,” "Cinderella,” "Puss 
in Boots,” "The Sleeping Beauty,” "Blue 
Beard,” "Beauty and the Beast,” "Alice In 
Wonderland,” and "Anderson’s Fairy Tales.” 
Eead "The Arabian Nights,” and "Eobinson 
Crusoe,” and as many other good stories, old 
and new, as you can without taking the time that 
you know should be spent doing something else. 

Has this chapter been a little long'? Bo you 
wonder why I have said so much about some- 
thing that really isn’t story telling? The rea- 
son I have made so much of this chapter is be- 
cause I am so anxious that you should begin at 
once to fill your minds, or mental store-houses, 
just full of interesting thoughts. Then the 
story-telling part will not be difficult. The 
grammar and composition you are learning at 
school, will help you to build sentences and com- 
pose your thoughts. I have tried to help you 
with your thoughts. You might learn all the 
rules of grammar and composition, but, without 
the thoughts, you would not be able to tell stories. 


72 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

There are a great many grown up girls and 
boys who go to art schools to learn to draw. 
They become able to draw very well, but their 
pictures are not interesting. It is because they 
have not learned to use the senses that should 
have been developed before they ever thought of 
learning to draw. They have no story to tell 
through their pictures. It is just so with your 
story-telling. You may learn to speak perfect 
English, but, unless you have something to say, 
no one will care to listen to your stories. 


CHOOSING YOUR SUBJECT 


73 


CHOOSING YOUR SUBJECT 

There is no end to the number and variety of 
subjects that you have to choose from. You re- 
member, we agreed that the difficulty is not so 
much finding a subject as it is choosing one. 
There are so very many interesting subjects, 
that it is only a matter of choice. You know 
pretty well, the kind of story that will be likely 
to interest your hearers, and you know what you 
like to talk about. Your story will be better if 
your subject is one that you understand and are 
interested in. Let these things be your first 
guides. 

If, when you grow up, you write stories for 
the magazines or papers, you will find that in 
most cases, they want what they call seasonable 
stories. By “seasonable” stories, they mean 
stories that have to do with the season in which 
they are intended to be read. For example, dur- 
ing the summer months, they want stories about 
things that people are likely to be doing in the 
summer — out-door stories of boating and auto- 
ing and camping. In December they want 
' Christmas stories and winter tales. The reason 
for this is that the reader’s mind is in touch with 
the season he is living in. 


74 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

When your thoughts are all on Christmas, 
and you are planning the jolly times you are 
going to have with the new sled or skates you 
hope to find under the tree Christmas morning 
— when you are longing for ice and beautiful 
drifts of snow, you do not care to listen to a story 
about the noise some little boy made on the 
Fourth of July. On the other hand, if you were 
planning to go to the lake for a picnic, on a nice 
summer day, it would not suit your mood to hear 
a story about a snow storm. 

So, when little sister or brother are all excited 
wondering what Santa is going to put in their 
stocking, you can add to their happiness by tell- 
ing them a Christmas story. 

I do not mean to have you take this as a set 
rule for story telling. There are a great many 
cases where it would not hold at all. You might 
be waiting, in a hot, sunny place somewhere, and 
it would be a real relief to your little companions 
to listen to a story about a baby Eskimo, who 
lived in the far North, Avhere there was always 
ice and snow. If your power of description was 
great enough, they would see the place you were 
telling about. They would feel the cold, crisp 
air, and you could make them forget how very 
warm and uncomfortable they were. Your 


CHOOSING YOUR SUBJECT 75 

story would act like a nice drink of cool water on 
a hot day. 

So you see, it would be quite wrong for us to 
make any hard, set rules about choosing subjects. 

W e are telling stories for play, and we do not 
want to make work of it. We are doing it to 
entertain others, and for our own amusement. 
But this does not mean that we cannot make our 
stories instructive. Stories that teach us 
some lesson — something historical — or some- 
thing about nature, are often the most interest- 
ing, for the very reason that they are true. 
Many of the best story writers take a period in 
history, or some event that has really happened, 
and use it as their guide in building a story, just 
as you used the pictures as your guide. They 
keep to the historical facts, but they make up a 
story, or romance, out of their own imagination, 
and weave it in along with the history. Such a 
story is called a historical novel, or historical 
romance. Using a real time and place in his- 
tory, makes the made up part of the story seem 
more real. And using imagination, and making 
up an exciting story, helps to make the history 
more interesting. So the real and the imagi- 
native each help the other. 


76 WHEK MOTHER LETS ITS TELL STORIES 


DELIVERY 

You must remember that, as a story teller, 
you have another part to play besides what 
would be expected of you if you were simply 
writing your story. You have to tell it, and tell 
it in a way that will help to make it seem more 
real to your listeners. In other words, you 
should do a little bit of acting along with the 
telling. Your manner of delivery, which means, 
your way of telling, will have much to do with 
whether or not you are able to keep your hearers 
interested. 

I am sure you remember the day you had your 
exercises at school, how you enjoyed hearing 
some of your classmates recite. How much they 
seemed to feel what they said. How they raised 
a hand here, or stamped a foot there, and how 
real it made their recitation seem. And you re- 
member too, how hard it was to be interested, 
when some of the other children recited in a sing- 
song way, as though they were hurrying to have 
it over with and get back to their seats. 

Do not be afraid to do a little acting. Imitate 
your different characters — the tone of their 
voices and their actions. 

When Mother told the story of ‘^Golden-locks 


DELIVERY 


77 


and the three bears,” she lowered her voice to a 
tiny squeak when she said, ‘Who has eaten my 
porridge,’ said the wee little bear.” And how 
she made it sound sweet and motherly when she 
imitated the mother bear. And, when she talked 
like the big papa bear, her voice was so gruff that 
it fairly scared you. And yet, how you liked to 
have her do it, because it made the story seem so 
real. 

When I was a very small boy, I went to a little 
country school, not far from the entrance to a 
national soldiers’ home, as it was called. It was 
like a great park, with big comfortable build- 
ings, and was kept up by the government, as a 
home for thousands of soldiers who had fought 
in the Civil War, and who were too old and 
feeble to take care of themselves. 

We used to meet a great many of the old 
soldiers, in our walk to and from school, and as 
they had very little to occupy their time, they 
were always glad to find eager little children to 
listen to their stories. Of course their stories 
were interesting. They had real stories to tell. 
They were the men who had fought the great 
Civil War — and, could anything be more in- 
teresting than to hear a story of a battle from 
the lips of a man who had taken an active 
part in it? But, as I think back, the thing 


78 WHEN MOTHER LETS HS TELL STORIES 

that impressed me, even more than the stories, 
was their way of telling them. They must have 
felt, very keenly, what they were saying, for 



some of them seemed to fairly live over again 
the things they told us. I remember one old man 
who had been a gunner in the artillery. His 
descriptions were very real. He would point to 


DELIVERY 


79 


the top of a distant hill, as he described the ap- 
proach of the enemy. He would imitate the 
preparation to meet the charge, and would fairly 



seem to be taking part in the struggle. It was 
very real to him. He w'as a good story teller. 
He must have been, to make a little boy remem- 


80 whe:n’ mother lets tjs tell stories 

ber his stories, and how he told them, for over 
thirty years. 

Sometimes I think, how. pleasant it would be. 



to sit down under a tree, by that shady country 
road, and hear the same stories over again. I 
wonder if they would have the same thrill they 
carried long ago. 


DELIVERY 


81 


The old story tellers are gone, but their deeds 
and their stories will live as long as there are 
little children to read of them. 



You have all been to motion picture plays. 
Perhaps we can find no better example to show 
how much can be expressed in action. You may 
sit for an hour or two and see a whole story acted 


82 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 

out, with not more than a very few words of ex- 
planation. I am speaking of this simply to im- 
press on you, how much can be done in action and 



expression. I do not mean that you must rely 
on these things altogether, but do remember that 
you can add a great deal to your story by the 
manner in which you tell it. 



DELIVEKY 


83 

You will find that a very good way of keeping 
your little listeners interested is by imitating the 
tone and manner of speech of the different peo- 



pie or characters in your story. This gives va- 
riety and helps to make them seem real. You 
know that the ugly ogre would not be likely to 
talk in the same tone as the gentle princess. So, 



84 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 


let the tone of your voice show the difference, 
just as you let your words express it. 

I think we all like to have animals and birds 
and all living creatures given the power of 
speech. We know so well, from their actions, 
what they would say at times, that it is a great 
pleasure and relief to us, to say, for them, the 
things they would say if they could talk. 

So, if you are telling a story about an old bear, 
or a wise old duck, or a funny little beetle, do not 
be afraid to say just what you think he would be 
likely to say, and say it in the very tone you think 
he would use. These things all help to add snap 
to your story, and to remove it from the common- 
place. 

There is a great deal of good to be gained from 
taking stories that you have heard or read, and 
telling them in your own way. 

If you find it hard to build your own stories 
and tell them at the same time, it will be very 
good practice to use stories that have already 
been built and try to tell them in an interesting 
way. You may be surprised to see how much 
more you get out of the stqry yourself, by doing 
this. 

When I was a little boy, I had a teacher who 
used to have us do two things. One of them was 
to memorize the different poems in our reader, 


DELIVERY 


85 


as we came to them. The other was to study 
each poem and then rewrite it in our own words. 
I have always felt indebted to this teacher. 
Sometimes you hear people say, ‘‘I do not care 
for poetry. Why should I take time to read 
it'?’’ There are some things that we may not 
like, that are worth learning to like. I do not 
think my teacher felt that we should make a 
business of learning poetry by heart. I think 
he knew that we were at just the age where our 
minds would memorize easily, and that it was 
adding to our mental wealth, to have some good 
verses stored away in our memories. It is like 
knowing some nice songs. 

His practice of having us write the poems, in 
prose, in our own way, was to help us to get the 
thought that was in them, and I think it was a 
very good way. 

You like verses. I am sure you do. Little 
children who like to tell stories are pretty apt to 
like poems. The next time brother or sister 
ask you to tell them a story, take some little poem 
that you are fond of and see how well you can 
tell it in your own words. Try some of Robert 
Stevenson’s poems in Child’s Garden of 
Verses,” and see what beautiful little stories he 
tells in them. 


86 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 


ORIGINALITY 

We have talked about using our eyes and ears, 
and about how to gather material — How to 
choose a subject, and how to build a story. We 
have talked about plots, and about delivery. 

There is one thing that we have said very lit- 
tle about. That is, originality. We can talk 
about what originality is, but it would be hard 
for me to help your originality by giving you any 
rules or methods to follow. Hard, for the rea- 
son that, in trying to help you, I might take away 
something that you already had. 

Your own way of thinking, and the thoughts 
your mind invents, is what is called your origi- 
nality. It is your own, just as much as the color 
of your hair, or the shape of your nose is your 
own. The way your mind builds, with the ma- 
terial that it has to work with, is a gift that is 
yours alone. It is the thing that makes your 
story different from any one’s else story, even 
though you may be talking about the same thing. 

No two minds can think exactly alike, any 
more than two people can look exactly alike. 
The difference in your way of reasoning from 
any one’s else way is your originality. It can- 
not be given to you, for the reason that it is 


ORIGINALITY 


87 


yours to begin with, and no one else has it to 
give. It can be developed by you though. It 
can be developed by exercising your senses — 
your sight and hearing and touch and taste and 
smell. The senses feed your thoughts, and de- 
velop your originality. 

If I were to say more about originality, I 
would only be repeating the things we have al- 
ready talked about. 

Your originality must grow and develop 
through the use of your senses. 


88 WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 


STYLE 

Style, in story telling, is your manner or way 
of expressing yourself and telling what you have 
to say. 

We have talked about originality of thought, 
or originality in thinking up your stories. 
Style, is originality in your way of telling 
stories. 

When you are a little older and do a great deal 
of reading, your mind will become so trained 
that, in many cases, you will be able to tell by 
reading a story or poem, who its author is. 
This is not because a writer’s stories are all 
alike. It is because you become acquainted with 
his way of telling stories. You get to know his 
manner of expression. In other words, you 
know his style. 

Style has a very important part in good story 
telling, and is therefore a subject that you should 
give much thought to. 

Your choice of words — choosing the most ex- 
pressive words; your manner of expression; 
your way of unfolding your plot, all go to make 
up what we call your style. 

Make a study of your choice of words. The 
slight difference in words that mean almost the 


STYLE 


89 


same thing, is a matter that should be given care- 
ful study. Be careful not to use words that are 
too extreme for the thought you wish to express. 
Such words as ‘‘terrible’’ and “frightful” and 
“horrible,” should be used sparingly, and in 
their correct place. 

Study different ways of expressing yourself 
so that, if you have to repeat a thought you can 
present the same idea in different words. This 
will help to give variety to what you are say- 
ing. 

Because a certain expression is effective, or, 
is good, you must be careful not to use it too 
freely, or it will lose its force. 

You may find that you can arouse special in- 
terest among your listeners by saying, “And 
then, what do you suppose happened Or, 
“Suddenly, what do you think he did?” They 
like it because it is an appeal to their own 
thought or imagination, but you must be careful 
not to do this too often or it will have no effect. 

Try not to repeat, excepting when you do it to 
make a thought more impressive. 

Do not try to tell your story in grown-up lan- 
guage, or the way you think some older person 
would tell it. It is your own story, so tell it in 
your way. Kemember that simple expression is 
always best. 


90 WHEK MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES 


A LAST WORD 

And now, a last word to all my little story tell- 
ing friends. Do not neglect your arithmetic, or 
your geography, or your history, or any other 
study — but particularly, because you like to tell 
stories, do pay special attention to your rhetoric 
and language. Don’t think that they are dry 
and uninteresting. They are the tools that are 
to help you carve your stories, and you want 
them to be sharp and useful. 


THE END 


“When Mother Lets Us” Series 


“when mother lets us cook.” — B y Const ANCB Johnson. 

An admirable cook book for very young cooks. Of genuine value, 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US ACT.”— By Stella Qeoegb Stern Perrt. 

A contribution of great value in amateur dramatics. This is not a book for work, 
it is a book for play. There is nothing to learn by heart in it. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US MAKE PAPER-BOX FURNITURE.” -By G. 

JfiLLiNGwooD Kicu, Brooklyn Training School for Teachers. 

This book shows exactly how to make fascinating doll's furniture out of paper 
boxes and materials which cost nothing. The ideas are new and unique. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US MAKE GIFTS.”-By MaryB. Grubb. 

Tells children how to make all sorts of useful and charming things to give their 
parents and friends. No great outlay is required. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US MAKE TOYS.”-By G. Ellingwood Rich, Brook- 
lyn Training School for Teachers. 

This book is for boys as well as girls. It teaches the youngsters to make good use 
of their time, fingers and the cast-off materials of any household. 

“ WHEN MOTHER LETS US MAKE CANDY.”— By Elizabeth & Louise Bache. 
Tells the best and safest way to make all sorts of candy. The little readers are 
given many valuable hints that will help them in all kinds of cooking. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US CUT OUT PICTURES.”-By Ida E. Boyd. 

A book that will be a boon to mothers and children on rainy afternoons. A joy to 
the convalescent or sick child. Full of clever ideas. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US KEEP PETS.”-By Constance Johnson. 

All children love animals. This little book teaches the child how to care for the 
various kinds of pets. It is a guide for dog-loving boys and kitten-loving girls alike. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US GARDEN.” -By Frances Duncan. 

A popular handbook of simple gardening for beginners of all ages. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US SEW.”-By Virginia Ralston (Mrs. Ralston). 

A wonderfully practical book full of ideas that children can easily carry out. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US PLAY.”-By Angela M. Keyes. 

Deals with pantomimes, puppet shows, plays, spinning tales, rhyming, shadow pic- 
tures, “what to say” games and many other fascinating plays. 

“WHEN^MOTHER LETS US HELP.”-By Constance Johnson. 

Here are hints for bed-making, cleaning house, sweeping, care of cut flowers and 
house plants, notes on the ice box, the wood box, the pot and pan closet, etc. 

“WHEN MOTHER LETS US GIVE A PARTY.”-By Elsie Duncan Yale. 

A useful book for birthday, Christmas— in fact, for any and every kind of party. 

“ WHEN MOTHER LETS US CARPENTER.”-By John D. Adams. 

A book telling boys and girls how to make many attractive and useful articles with 
few tools and at small expense. Attractively illustrated. 

“ WHEN MOTHER LETS US MODEL.”— By Helen Mortimer Adams. 

A book to teach children the use of clay, giving directions for making practical 
toys and useful objects and graded suggestions for artistic modelling. 

“ WHEN MOTHER LETS US TELL STORIES.”-By Enos B. Comstock. 

The aim of this work is to improve the child s power of observation as well 
as his method of expression. 


“WHEN MOTHER LETS US DEAW.”-By Emma R. Lee Thayer. 

Makes drawing interesting and amusing to children. Develops the “seeing” eye 
and guides the little hand. 


Each volume fully illuatrated 


Price 75 cents, net, each 


MOFFAT, YARD & COMPANY 


New York 








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